diff --git a/test/test_helper.rb b/test/test_helper.rb
index 203d376..e7fe98b 100644
--- a/test/test_helper.rb
+++ b/test/test_helper.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 $:.unshift(File.expand_path(File.dirname(__FILE__) + '../../lib/'))
 
-$KCODE = 'u'
+$KCODE = 'u' if RUBY_VERSION =~ /^1\.8/
 
 require 'rubygems'
 require 'test/unit'